If New England Patriots lose, will Cam Newton’s race become a factor?
New England Patriots quarterback Cam Newton probably isn’t contemplating the query, the query others are excited about, the query that includes race, sports activities and Boston, three parts that always mix into a poisonous potion.
Newton might not be excited about it, however others are, and the query goes like this: If Newton’s tenure in New England falters, will Patriots followers see Newton as solely a failed quarterback, or due to Boston’s traditionally ugly racial dynamics, will he be seen as a failed Black quarterback?
NFL gamers, a number of staff officers throughout the NFL and even some within the league workplace have puzzled what it might be like for Newton enjoying in one of many extra racially hostile environments for African American athletes within the nation. The concern wasn’t simply how his preliminary reception would go along with followers, but additionally how they’d react if the Patriots did not make the playoffs.
Some of those self same individuals say they’re holding their breath now watching Newton, and hoping the extremism different athletes of shade confronted in Boston doesn’t occur to him because the Patriots could miss the postseason for the primary time since 2008.
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The Patriots are 4-6 and Newton, who missed one recreation after the NFL positioned him on the reserve/COVID-19 listing, continues to wrestle within the passing recreation. He has 4 landing passes and 7 interceptions on the season. Newton does have 9 speeding scores.
If you assume the query is unfair, hysterics, or too hypothetical, you haven’t paid consideration to what’s been occurring in Boston for many years. Not simply the distant previous, both, however now.
Boston Celtics nice Bill Russell spoke in August concerning the racial abuse he endured as a participant. Years after Russell, one other Celtics participant, Marcus Smart, detailed numerous racist incidents he skilled, together with being known as a racial slur proper outdoors the staff’s house area. The Red Sox had been compelled to apologize to Baltimore Orioles heart fielder Adam Jones in 2017 after followers hurled racist slurs and peanuts at him throughout a recreation.
The incidents of racism in Boston sports activities obtained so dangerous, and so quite a few, theBoston Globe’s Spotlight investigative team examined the historical past of racism and slurs directed at athletes of shade. Boston’s racism was even a part of “Saturday Night Live” in 2017.
“I always worry that with (Newton), if it doesn’t work out, some fans in Boston will say, ‘See, you shouldn’t have wasted money on that Black quarterback,’” stated Saida Grundy, an assistant professor of sociology and African American research at Boston University, and member of the college’s Center for Antiracist Research.
Courtney Cox, a professor of race and sports activities on the University of Oregon, in contrast Newton’s potential state of affairs to that of European soccer gamers like “(Karim) Benzema who say, ‘When I score, I’m French. When I don’t, I’m an Arab.’ I think (Romelu) Lukaku and (Mesut) Ozil have said similar things (with) winning as a means of full acceptance and citizenship and losing, as relegation to, ‘Other.’ The racial history of the quarterback position, coupled with Boston’s history, seemingly compound that potential rhetoric.”
“Black quarterbacks are still judged differently, often harsher,” stated Kenneth Shropshire, the CEO of Arizona State University’s Global Sports Institute, and creator of In Black and White: Race and Sports in America. “In (Newton’s) case you can’t overlook the history of Boston.”
Grundy stated she believes that Boston’s racial historical past is so problematic, it’s attainable Newton obtained “the talk.”
“I think a lot of Black people when it comes to Boston have had ‘the talk,’” stated Grundy. “When you’re Black and move to Boston you get ‘the talk’ about where you can go safely, where you can’t, the sundown parts of town. We all get that talk. I’m sure (Newton) got it, too.”
If it wasn’t laborious sufficient to be a Black quarterback in Boston, Newton follows Tom Brady, winner of six Super Bowls and three Most Valuable Player awards, and is the best quarterback of all time.
After 9 Super Bowl appearances, 9 convention championships and 17 AFC East titles since 2001, the Patriots are in third place within the division. They are solely forward of the 0-10 Jets. A depleted roster is one motive whereas Newton’s at-times subpar play is one other.
In an October recreation towards San Francisco he threw for 98 yards and tossed three interceptions. For a lot of the season Newton has hovered close to the underside of the rankings in passing yards, completions, and throwing accuracy.
He’s nonetheless Cam Newton. He’s nonetheless electrical and harmful. It’s additionally attainable the Patriots could make a severe run, and shock everybody by making the playoffs.
Still, what’s clear is the way in which New England runs its offense might not be sustainable and often, in these cases, when issues go dangerous the quarterback will get the blame, regardless of different causes for the Patriots’ mediocrity.
Which brings us again to the query: If the Patriots can’t rescue their season, will his Blackness become a part of the equation with Boston followers and others?
Meanwhile, contained in the Patriots’ locker room, he’s immensely revered. Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels stated on Nov. 17 throughout a video convention with reporters that Newton is “a tremendous example of what a leader is supposed to be.”
“Cam, he’s never wavered from his work ethic, from his attitude, from the way he approaches practice, the effort he gives on a daily basis,” McDaniels said via the Boston Herald. “Whether it be a meeting, a film session, a walkthrough, or any part of what we’re doing on the field, he is unselfish, he is accountable for any mistake he makes, he’s incredibly honest. Communication with Cam is exactly the kind of communication you’re looking for when you’re a coach. You ask a question, you get an honest response. If you made a mistake, he’ll tell you what it was, which again, there’s no better example for younger players, than to see a guy do that.”
Yet outdoors of New England others across the league watch Newton, questioning how he’ll be handled by followers if the staff doesn’t make the postseason, with one eye targeted on Newton, and the opposite on Boston’s historical past.
